Sudan ,the small continent of Africa ,is remarkably one of the biggest African and Arabian countries –thus, it occupies some one million square miles in the plant earths terra firma ,and is counted no(9) in terms of area in comparison with other countries .a glance at the of the continent would reveal that Sudan is the actual center of Africa ,and s surrounded by nine African countries ,namely and in anticlockwise order: (Egypt,Libya,chad,Demogratic Republic of cogo,Uganda,Kenya,Ethiopia,and Eritria).Thee stern region of Sudan is bounded by the Red sea, with the two main sea port of port Sudan and osman digna .The total population of Sudan is some 33 million in habitants, and is currently subject to arate of growth at 2.8%per annum.

Sudan is a housing a nation of heterogeneous features whose individuals are commonly famous for love of hospitality and succor and the present mix of the Arabian and African civilizations, which is the product of the deep past, has transformed the Sudanese nation into one bearing wide Varity of cultural social and ethnic background. The history  of the Sudan is back dated to the deeply rooted past of the Nubian kingdoms ,and of the antiquities of the successive Islamic states and kingdoms that ruled the country.

Weather conditions:

In vast area Sudan is extending from lat.5Nto lat.20 N, and it may be divided in to two natural regions with high temperature and heavy summer rains, especially in mountain areas, and(2) the scrub and desert region, hot throughout the year with only very light rains in summer between the months of November and February, a moderate cold felt all over the country ,while between March and June ,hot weather is a common feature in the country and it may reach 40 in Khartoum .So drinking of much liquids in summer is devisable ,as a measure to avoid of the risk of liquid deficiency and sun strake .a little more sugar and salt should be added to the ordinary food consumptions, and light cotton made clothing are the best to wear in much a hot weather.

Natural features:

I n additional to the recognized regions of savannas and scrub and desert ,the natural features of Sudan are characterized by the existence of five mountainous serieses and plains ,normally the Red sea Mountains and hills, the mountains (Jabal)mara(of 10.000ft. height above sea level )in the west of Sudan the Taka mountain in the east ,the Maidoub mountain –Kassala state a group of plateaus in the far north of the state of western darfur,and Nuba mountains in the rich and rainy savanna belt of southern Sudan .Most of the plains of Sudan are naturally eguipped with so many rivers. The river Nile has come out to be one of the largest rivers in the world. Time in the Sudan -in Sudan is 3hrs earlier than 1green wich mean time.

Arabic is the official language in Sudan ,English is the second official language and is widely used in the big cities and the south of the Sudan .More than 150 dialects are being spoken in the country, some 26 of these are being spoken by more than 100 thousand person for each

Currency in circulation:

The official unit of the currency in circulation in Sudan is the (dinar) and its tenth subdivision in to the unit of pound .until today ,the central bank of su1-sudan national museum :The biggest of all museums in Sudan ,had first been established in the faculty of arts of Gardons memorial college in 1904,in later years it had been transferred to its present location and was opened for public in 1971. The museum contains so many antiquities that are shown   according to their succession from the prehistoric ages towards the advent of the Islamic era .The garden of the museum houses many temples that were brought from the high –Dam –engulfed area in the north of Sudan .                                              

an has issued seven categories of paper money ,as bank notes of 5 – dinar, 25-dinar,50 dinar,100 dinar,1000 dinar,and2000 diner .Coins money also in circulation, as pieces of 1-dinar 2-dinar,5-dinar,50 dinar

Khartoum ,the land of ancient civilization and Nectar of history:

As apparently indicated and pointed out by all archaeological remains and historical features ,the land of Khartoum was the genuine home of many types of human life and civilization since so many prehistoric ages of these are the civilization of the early Khartoum, al-shaheenab,khor abuanja ,locations represent different historical periods and they had significant impacts on the history of Sudan, commencing from the Christian kingdom of   alwa , whose metropolis was in the city of soba ,and extending to the down of Islamic civilization.

        The main historical and archaeological locations:

A nation with out past will never be destined to deserve eternity ,so said one of the famous philosophers, and he had ,byway or another, stressed on the significance of history and the deep past of nations and the role of heritage in human genuine existence so, with in this limited space ,we are going to give a brief idea of the archaeological and historical features of the state of Khartoum.

1-Kor abu anja(10.000-8.000BC).

Khor abu anja is seasonal sterm to the main Nile ,and abu anja village was originally located at a distance of 3Km .From the stream mouth .Its the oldest housing cite in the state of Khartoum ,and its history dates back to the early stone age.

2-Kartoum (hospital cite (8000-6000BC):This spot is located inside Khartoum hospital and it dates back to the middle stone age ,which is also called the age of Khartoum early civilization the main activities of men in that age were stressed on collecting fruits, fishery ,and making of unpolished pots and stools. At this cite, some 2000years ago man had discovered the craft of pottery for the time in human history.

3-Al- shaheenab area(6000-3500 Bc):

The location of al-shaheenab area is to the west of the main Nile and at a distance of 48Km ,to the north from the governorate of karrari.The history of the area dates back to the modern stage age, no cemeteries were discovered in the area but all theories are in favor of the concept that the people of that age had thrown the corpses of their dead people in to the Nile.

4-Al-jaily area (6000-3500 Bc): The said location is in the vicinity of al-jaily railway station ,towards the north of Khartoum north .The location is composed of artificial hill.

5-The marawian age (593Bc-530Ac ):

The civilization of mararawi is regarded as one of the most distinguished African civilization ,it left behind numerous antiquities of pyramids ,places, temples which are still standing high to witness for the grandeur of the marawian age which had embraced many parts of African continent   especially in the south of the great sahara.

6-The Christian age (504-1504Ac)

The area of soba-west ,located in the state of Khartoum ,represents the important historical location of the above period which was historically attached to the Christian age in Sudan , as soba was a capital of the Christian state of alwa which was established on the eastern bank of the blue Nile at a distance of 14Km .

7-The kingdom of fonj(1504-1831Ac)

The period of the said kingdom dates back to the advent of the Islamic civilization ,and it witnessed the building up of numerous sacred doms of sheikhs of Islam. The main of these domes are of sheikh Idrees wad Al-arbab of Al-Ailafoon area on the eastern area on the eastern bank of the blue Nile.

8-The Turkishs Era(1831-185 Ac):

In the center of old Khartoum and to the west in the vicinity of the republican palace there are three famous and main building which are still in a good condition and always pointing out to the region of the Turkish in Sudan ,the three building are the present ones of the central post office ,the ministry of finance and national economy.

9-The Era of AL-Mahdiya region   (1885-1898):

The city of omdurman had gained its significance as a historical and national capital of Sudan due to the remarkable achievements of Al- mahdist state ,and the remain of which and the antiquities are still standing up until today to witness the greatness of the Al-mahdist era.The famous example of these remains are ramparts of Al-mulazmeen,the south fort, and the present prison of omdurman –which was once a house that belonged to osman sheikh aldeen ,the son of caliph abdu-allah al-tayshi.The era of al-mahdism is actually represented by many historical sites most of which are found in the city of omdurman such as abdu-alchagyooms gate, the stadium of omdurman ,the caliphs house which was transformed into museum to contain different types of historical items that belonged to the era of al-mahdist state.

                                                  Museums of Khartoum :

1-sudan national museum :The biggest of all museums in Sudan ,had first been established in the faculty of arts of Gardons memorial college in 1904,in later years it had been transferred to its present location and was opened for public in 1971. The museum contains so many antiquities that are shown   according to their succession from the prehistoric ages towards the advent of the Islamic era .The garden of the museum houses many temples that were brought from the high –Dam –engulfed area in the north of Sudan .

2-Museum of the Caliphs house:

This museum is located in omdurman town ,and it had once been the house of caliph abduallah al-sayed Muhammed Torshian,the successor of alemam almhadi.It had been built in 1887 under the supervision of the Italian architech.

3-The museum of   natural history   :Is located in al-jamah street near Al-sharigha conference hall of the university of Khartoum ,and it contain of many kinds of birds   and animals   that reflect the different aspect of the geographical variations of the Sudanese environment .Its a scientific institution which belongs to the university of Khartoum.

4-Sudan National Museum of Ethnography previously :known as the museum of popular heritage ,This museum is located in Khartoum near the crossing of Al- mak nimer street with Aljamah street and to the opposite of the ministry of external affairs, and it was opened for public in 1956.The building in the past year s was a club that belonged to the British army, and later on was transformed   into a museum to contain numerous elements of material culture and national heritage which reflect and represent the various cultural and ethnical variety in the different regions of Sudan .It was divided in to many rooms to house and reflect the different aspect of culture of reach region in Sudan.

5-The museum of the republican place: This museum occupies   the southeastern part of the republican place building ,and is assuming the task of documenting ,keeping, and showing up the presidential property and activity in the past various historical decades of modern Sudan .It is composed of several wings such as of old presidential vehicles ,of bleges,of rare oil paintings, and of musical instruments ,etc

The museum is open for public weekly in two   periods on Fridays ,Sunday ,and Wednesdays.

6-The military museum :

This museum was established inside the head quarters of Sudan peoples armed forces ,and it contains inside numerous old weapons and guns ,memos of old fighters in the different periods of Sudan history, and the remains of the historical battles that took place in Sudan.

Folkloric arts in Sudan: The large and wide variety in life features in Sudan has led to the enrichment of the radio-visual Folkloric arts which are attractive to the attention of the tourist, like singing and dancing .In the far east of Sudan we find the Bija tribe with their dance   of sword which reflects the Bedouin life and pluck of man, in the   north of Sudan .We find the Nubians playing with their tambourines in clam and solemn dances which reflect the nature of the desert and the Nile, in the south of Sudan ,where the nilotic tribes are living ,we find the drums which are linked to the meanings of tribal dances and the arts of war and similarly to the kamblaDance for young men on the Nuba mountains when they reach the age of man hood among the men of their tribes ,and in the center of Sudan we find the dance of Al –saghriya and Al-Ardha,and all these self expressive of strength and endurance .These beside other dances of harvest and game among the tribes in the areas of the southern blue Nile and western Sudan .However, the folkloric arts in Sudan are an open invitation for the tourist of the country to come and see them as matter of fact.

The state of Khartoum ,in which the main center of the national capital is located, has engulfed all these different tribal gatherings into its crucible, with all their power of creativity in folkloric arts like that of the manual popular crafts and of the Nuba-tribes wrestling co petitions in the areas of Al-haj yosif.

The folkloric arts of singing and dancing are one of the genuine features which are prevalent among the majority of the inhabitants of Sudan ,and they represent an open invitation to all tourists to visit this country and see them in practice in the state of Khartoum and study them .

First car seen in Sudan :

Omdurmans iron band ,visible from the Khartoum Hilton ,spans the white Nile . After minute ride from the hotel and the visitor is in omdurman ,a traditional Arab market town ,offering every thing from fine Sudanese cotton and handicrafts to what is called the largest selection of camels in the world.

Omdurman is also the site of Khalifa house, the most interesting museum of Sudan .Equally impressive in omdurman is the very modern national theatre,adjacent to the countrys radio and Tv station .Like the other theatres and cinemas in Khartoum .As the climate is hot and dry part of the year and warm and dry the other part.

Natural Resources:

1-Agriculture:

The Sudan is very rich agricultural resources. There are continuous water sources ,land and the suitable climate for the production of different agricultural   products.

2- Animal Resources:

The Sudan considered as one of the richest countries in Africa and middle east in animal resources in the sudan is evaluated at not less than 330 million pounds.

In spite of the fact that the Sudan is so rich in the field of animal resources the income from meal export is only        about 10 millions ,and the other products of animals are not fully and economically utilized except for hides and skins.

3-Mineral Resources :

The preliminary feasibility studies proved the heavy existence of iron , magnesium,chrome,cupper and gold. It is no doubt that minerals need heavy capital and Sudan with is limited   resources cannot utilize its resources fully in this field .

4- Other resources :

The Nile and its branches is one   of the natural resources in the Sudan .The Nile is also considered as a source of hydro-electricpower which is not fully utilized .

5-Wood Resources:

The sudan is rich in forest but the wood industry is not advanced .

An article introducing our country Sudan

 include customs, natural environment ,historical sites ,currency in circulations, museums of Khartoum ,folkoloric arts and natural resources  in Sudan

Prepared by :Maha esmeal ahmed esmeal

June2006